This disclosure relates to detecting message tampering by a communication node in a switched-path network.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
When a message is sent over a network, such as the Internet, the message may pass through one or more large telecommunications provider networks. When a particular provider network receives the message as it travels from a sender to a receiver, the provider network may transmit the message over a switched path through several communication nodes controlled by that provider network. The switched-path network of the telecommunications provider may predefine the path through communication nodes that the message will take on its way through the telecommunications provider network. One example of such a switched-path network is an optical transport network (OTN).
Although the sender may employ end-to-end encryption and authentication, individual communication nodes or even entire telecommunications provider networks could attempt to tamper with the message or otherwise behave unreliably. When the message is tampered with, the ultimate receiver of the message may use the end-to-end authentication to identify that the message is not authentic and, as such, that the message has been tampered with somewhere along the path between the sender and the receiver. Although end-to-end authentication can enable the receiver to identify that the message is not authentic, the source of the message tampering may be unknown. Indeed, in some circumstances, neither the sender, nor the receiver, nor the telecommunications provider may be able to identify a particular untrustworthy or unreliable communication node.